Unlikely Places
by MickeyMadison
Summary: Sion is a captive of a mischeivious demon lord. Hiei and Kurama must stop him, but Sion gets caught up in the mess. But did she have a connection to Hiei before this incident? What do they hear of Frey after he battle? Fanfic gift for a friend.
1. Division I

_**Unlikely Places**_

The soft cry of wailing souls was a hum to the Spirit Detectives as they followed Botan down the corridor to Ko-Enma's office. Yuusuke and Kuwabara didn't look particularly happy, but Kurama and Hiei remained indifferent. Ogres of various exotic skin colors hurried past, making sure to not get in the path of the very important persons. The blue haired reaper dodged one young ogre and stopped in front of two large doors. She pressed a button on the voice pad next to the doors and spoke their names. In a few moments, the double doors slid away from each other and revealed the large office. Sitting at a desk piled high with papers was the toddler prince of the spirit world.

"All right, toddler breath. What d'you want?" Yuusuke asked loudly, marching into the office. Many startled ogres turned to stare with widened eyes at the youth.

"Yeah, we're retired!" Kuwabara announced.

Ko-Enma hopped up onto his desk, holding a small remote controller in his hand. "Could you stand to do one last mission for me?"

"No." Yuusuke said tersely.

"Yuusuke, why don't you hear what the mission is first?" Botan asked, crossing her arms.

"Why?" Yuusuke turned to look at her. "I already know what I'm going to say."

"Uh, Urameshi…." Kuwabara whispered, "What _are_ you going to say?"

Yuusuke's response was his fist connecting with Kuwabara's head.

Ko-Enma aimed the controller at the television screen and pressed a button. Immediately, the screen lit up to show two pictures.

The first picture was a girl, appearing to be no older than about seventeen. She had bleach blonde chin length hair, cut so that it grew shorter as it went towards the back of her head, and the bangs were solid black. Poking out of her hair was a pair of black cat ears, each pierced many times. Her eyes were cat like and ocean blue, the edges stained with gold. Her neck had a small scar obviously made by a sword. Her lip was pierced on the right side and so was her navel. On her right upper arm, she had a tattoo of two wolf heads in front of a full moon, one black wolf and one white. Above her left breast was a yin-yang tattoo and barb wire wrapped around her waist. She was athletic and pale with a black cat tail. She wore a black push up bra and a long sleeve fishnet shirt attached to the hem. Her pants were baggy and black, with chains hanging in loops from the pocket. Her shoes were solid black converses.

The second picture was of a man with shining, feminine leaf green hair down to his hips. His narrow eyes were a vicious blood red. He had a thin, hourglass figure with a weak structure. He was pale and tall, with a strange air of power. Visible fangs showed over his bottom lip, and his nails were sharpened into claws. He wore a loose, white kimono that showed most of a large tattoo of a black, upside down cross on his chest.

"The girl is Sion Chimia, a hanyou neko youkai." Ko-Enma explained, looking through a stapled packet of papers. "The man is the demon lord Frey. He's been out of power for about a century now, but we recently found that he owns a stronghold in a much uninhabited part of the Makai."

Yuusuke stood with his arms crossed, tapping his fingers on his elbow and tapping his foot impatiently against the floor. "So what?"

Ko-Enma inhaled deeply and sighed. "He's starting to stir up trouble. He's trying to cause a war with another lord, which he hopes will cause a chain reaction throwing Makai into turmoil again."

"What about the king?" Kurama asked. "Shouldn't he be dealing with this?"

"He requested back up." Ko-Enma replied.

"What about the girl?" Hiei asked indifferently.

"Sion is the most well-known, trusted servant to Frey. She has been for years, but we have no records on her past." Botan said, reading from a paper in her hands.

"Point?" Yuusuke raised an eyebrow.

"She's the only servant we have information on. We thought you might like to know what you're up against." Ko-Enma said, glaring at the black haired high school student. "Well?"

Yuusuke rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looking over the pictures on the screen. "Hm… No." He turned around and left the office.

"Hey, wait up, Urameshi!" Kuwabara called and ran after Yuusuke.

Botan frowned at Ko-Enma, "We tried, sir."

Ko-Enma sighed and looked to Kurama and Hiei. The fire youkai had started to head for the door as well, but was stopped by Botan blocking the entrance, her arms spread across the frame. "No, wait!"

Hiei turned to glare at Ko-Enma, who gave a sheepish grin, holding his pacifier between clenched teeth.

x – x - x

The soft padding of socks against a wooden floor and the subtle clink of small chains traveled down the porch of the stronghold. The sounds stopped in front of a door. It slid back, the padding of feet was heard once more, and then the sound of the door sliding closed.

Sion stood in a large, empty room, her clawed hands holding a tray of food. The opposite wall of the room was made up of two huge sliding doors that were open, showing the back porch walkway and garden; beautiful mountain ranges standing in the distance. Frey sat on the porch, twirling a newly budded flower between his fingers. His long hair was brushed and silky, falling easily over his shoulder and splaying across his back. The strands moved freely as he turned his head to look at Sion.

"Don't just stand there and gape at the mountains." Frey said turning back. "It's unattractive."

Sion held back a scowl and walked over to Frey, setting his breakfast down in front of him. She turned to leave but Frey held up a hand to stop her.

"Why are you always in such a hurry? Stay with me for a while and visit."

Sion reluctantly turned back around and sat next to the green-haired lord.

Frey watched her as he picked at his meal, eating small bits and pieces. "Why are you so unhappy, Sion? You have all that you need here. Food, water, over-accommodating shelter…"

"But I don't have what I want." She said tersely.

Frey forgot his breakfast and turned his full attention on the half-demon in front of him. "Want? Want? What could you possibly _want_?"

Sion looked to the mountains, not responding. No matter how she answered, she knew she had lit Frey's fuse, and it wasn't a very long one.

Frey followed her gaze and understood exactly. "So, you want to leave?"

No response from the neko.

Frey laughed and it sent chills running up Sion's spine. "You seek your freedom, huh? I'm afraid, that's one thing I can't give you, dear."

"Why can't I just go to Parlo? I'll come back!" Sion protested; turning her gaze to Frey's burning red eyes. She held eye contact, keeping a stern expression. She didn't want to show any weakness.

"I can't let you do that." Frey said in a low voice. His fuse had almost burned up.

"You always tell me you trust me the most. Apparently, either that was a lie or it isn't enough to leave, even just for an afternoon!" Sion bared her fangs, her hands balled into fists.

Frey stood suddenly, his hair whipping about his face. "You're questioning my judgment?"

"Yes," Sion stood up. "I am!"

The fuse was gone. Frey's palm connected forcefully with Sion's cheek, sending the blonde tumbling off the porch into the dirt. The angered demon lord stood over her, glaring down with such fierce sternness it could make a mountain move out of the way. "No one stands up to me. Especially you, Sion Chimia."

Sion glared up at him, but said nothing. She pulled herself up and left the room, brushing off her clothes and trying to retain what dignity she could. She slammed into her room and grabbed the nearest object, that happened to be a small mirror. She busted it against the wall and dropped to her knees, punching the floor. In the shattered shards of mirror, she could see her left cheek swelling up and turning a mutated rose color. She gingerly touched her two fingers to it and quickly pulled them away, hissing from the pain and slamming her knuckles into the glass, cutting them up.

She was tired of it all. Frey would never let her leave, not even look over the stone walls surrounding the stronghold. She would be imprisoned as his slave forever, endlessly enduring his mood swings, desires, and sexual wants. She leaned against her bed and picked up a sliver of mirror. She stared into it for a moment, admiring how much it resembled a dagger.

_It's been a long time,_ Sion thought, turning the mirror fragment over and over in her hands, _since I had thoughts of suicide._

It was the opportune moment for an interruption, a moment that was taken. The door slid open and a figure paused at the threshold, looking quickly to Sion. Immediately, he was down on his knees in front of her, snatching the mirror from her hand.

It was a young demon man of about eighteen. He had dark brown hair to his shoulders that he always kept pulled back in a ponytail, easily showing everyone his brilliant amber colored eyes. He was tan skinned and tall, about 6'2", with an average build. He appeared to only be human, but he had demon energy.

"Sion, what the hell do you think you're doing, eh!" he exclaimed, holding up the sharp object.

"What does it look like?" Sion replied coldly, standing up and going to her desk. She pulled out a small notebook and began looking for a pen, trying to ignore the demon's presence. She opened to a blank page and began to write.

He sighed and dropped the fragment to the floor. "You and Frey fought again, eh?"

Sion paused in her writing and sat tense, then continued to write more rapidly than before.

"Sion it's me, _Jiro_," he said walking up to stand behind her, a pout on his face. "You can tell me anything."

Sion slammed down her pencil and turned around. "I want to leave. I can't take it anymore."

Jiro's lips curled up into a smile, but he didn't yet respond.

Sion growled and narrowed her eyes. "What? You think it's funny?"

"No, no." Jiro shook his head and grinned at her. "I have a solution to your problem."

Sion raised an eyebrow, turning full around in her chair to face him. "What do you mean…?" she asked hesitantly, as if unsure about what he had said.

Jiro kneeled beside Sion and whispered into her ear, "Remember the tunnel?"

Sion nodded in response, her anxiety growing.

"It's finished."

x – x – x

The next night after all in the stronghold, even Frey, had gone to bed Sion rose from her warm bed covers and placed her feet on the cold floorboards. She dug around under her bed for a small, black duffle bag which she laid open on her bed. Quickly and quietly, she packed an extra set of clothes, her journal, and a few other personal belongings. Slowly sliding open her door she looked up and down the empty hall. She picked up her shoes, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed silently towards the kitchens.

Everything was dark and eerily quiet. The only light came from a candle sitting on the counter in the kitchen and the full moon outside. Sitting around the candle was Jiro and a young girl of about fifteen. She had flaming red hair in a bobbed haircut and grey eyes. A pair of small black horns resembling a devil's grew from her skull and her nails were sharp like claws. She was short and thin with milky colored skin.

"Sion?" she asked before she could see the hanyou.

"Yeah," Sion replied, stepping into the candlelight.

"Ready?" asked Jiro and Sion nodded. "Aiko will lead you through the tunnel."

"Take this." Aiko held out a small brown parcel to Sion, which she hesitantly took. "It's food, just in case of an emergency."

"We'll keep Frey occupied as long as we can, eh?" Jiro said and walked into the narrow pantry. He kneeled down and knocked on a couple of floorboards. Finding one that fit the sounds he was searching for, he dug his fingers along the cracks and pulled it up.

The space was just big enough to fit one person, if they inhaled. Aiko grabbed the candle and stepped down into it. "Follow the light. There's a lot of misleading tunnels to confuse others."

"And here I've always been told to not go towards the light." Sion said dryly, looking with distaste at the tunnel.

Aiko pursed her lips together and got down on her hands and knees, using one hand to hold the candle out ahead of her.

Sion stepped down and turned back to look up at Jiro. "Thanks." She said awkwardly.

"It's no problem." He smiled sadly. "See you around, Toyru." He said the name with strong affection.

Before Sion could respond in any way, a clatter sounded from outside the kitchen door in the hallway. Sion ducked into the tunnel as the trap door shut above her. Inhaling deeply and closing her eyes for moment, she shoved her duffle bag along as she began to crawl after Aiko. Her mind was swirling from the closed space and she thought she going to pass out. The constant bombardment of thoughts did her zero good as well. Was Jiro all right? What was that sound outside? Was she going to get caught? How long would Frey let her go?

After a long time of crawling through the dirt, Aiko stopped. She pressed her ear to the ceiling of the tunnel and hesitated for a moment before pushing up a rock and inspecting the area by sight. She climbed out of the tunnel and turned, pulling out Sion's bag so that the cat demon could climb out.

Sion stood up and took a deep breath, thankful to finally be out of that cramped passage. She took her bag back and looked about where she was. The landscape was beautiful and peaceful. The mountain ranges that she often studied rested against a navy blue sky sprinkled with stars. A full moon shined down on them, lighting the forest path leading to Parlo. It was all such a refreshing sight, and it almost felt new to Sion. It'd been so long sine she'd last seen it.

"Good luck, Sion." Aiko smiled with a hint of jealousy. She climbed back into the tunnel, pulled the rock over the entrance, and was gone. Sion immediately headed down the path, planning to walk nonstop until the sun set the next day.

After about an hour of walking, she began to loosen up and just stroll along. Though it didn't show, she was thrilled to finally be free, but afraid that she wasn't quite out of Frey's clutches yet.

She was lost deep into her thoughts, so much that she didn't hear someone approaching. She stumbled forwards as the hilt of a weapon bashed her in the back of the head.

She panicked thinking that is was one of Frey's fighters come to retrieve her. She spun around as the demon lunged at her. She didn't have time to defend or pull a weapon, so she was knocked to the ground under the weight of the nasty, green reptile demon. She immediately shielded her face with one arm, sending a punch to the demon's head.

Then there were two snarls and a horrid cry from the demon. She opened her eyes to see two wolves, one black and one white, ripping the demon limb from limb. She struggled to her feet, watching the wolves with amazement.

The wolves didn't let up until the demon was most assuredly dead. They walked to Sion, blood dripping from their jaws. The cat demon cautiously held out her hand and the white wolf nuzzled against her palm.

"Why did you help me?" Sion asked as if they could answer, starting to feel emotionally attached to the beautiful creatures. "Why do you seem so familiar…?" She pondered this as the wolves took her affection for granted.

A howl came from a distance and the wolves' ears perked. After another howl, they were gone, running through the trees at a quick pace. Sion stood and watched them until she could no longer see their forms, and then started along the path again.

Night faded into day, but she continued to walk, though she felt fatigued. She pulled some bread from the brown parcel Aiko had given her and munched slowly to edge away her hunger.

By sunset she was insight of Parlo. When she finally arrived in town the moon was high overhead. Without much thought, Sion rented a room in the inn and passed out on the bed.

x – x – x


	2. Division II

_**Unlikely Places**_

_The giggles of a young girl echoed in the woods as she kicked a ball, and then chased after it. Her hair was blonde and in a bob cut, and her eyes were large and ocean green with gold lining. She had cat ears and a tail, and only appeared to be about four years old. She kicked the ball, a little harder than before, and it rolled into the woods._

_The young Sion ran after it. She walked ceaselessly, looking everywhere for her toy. The forest grew darker and darker until Sion finally stopped. She looked around, feeling terribly scared and alone. Tears began to swell up in her eyes as she looked for the way she came._

"_Oh look, Rei, a little cat girl," came a hissing voice from the bushes. Sion spun to face it, her wobbly legs causing her to fall._

_Two demons slivered out of the bushes. They looked to be half man and half snake; the torso of a man formed into the body of a snake. The first demon had long, greasy black hair to his waist and snakelike, purple eyes. The second had no hair at all, and terrifying red eyes._

"_Hiro, look how ssskinny ssshe isss," replied the bald demon in the same hissing voice. "Ssshe won't tassste good at all!"_

_Hiro slid around behind Sion and bent down to inspect her as Rei did the same. They had her surrounded with their tails._

"_But s she'll make a good sssnack," said Rei._

_Sion busted into tears, screaming and wailing. Rei covered his ears and cringed._

"_Ssss! Kill her now, Hiro! I can't ssstand the noissse!"_

_Hiro pulled a dagger from its sheath that was around his waist and went to cut Sion's throat, but he was tackled to the ground as was Rei._

_Sion closed her eyes and cried as the newcomers mutilated the nagas. When all sound had disappeared she slowly peeked. Standing in front of her were two wolves, one white and one black._

x – x - x

Sion slowly opened her eyes and looked about the room. The moon was still out, and by its position in the sky she knew it was very late. Groggily, she sat up and reached for her bag that sat at the foot of her bed. She fumbled around until she found her journal and turned to the very first entry.

_dear diery  
__my ball was lost in the woods todey snakies tried to eat me but I was saved by 2 pupies! 1 is white and 1 is black I name them tamika and salika_

_sion_

She turned the page to the next diary entry. The pages here were slightly tearstained.

_Dear diery  
__tamika and salika no come today_

_Sion_

Sion closed the book and stared at it with unfocused eyes. She had had this journal forever and wrote occasionally, but she never went back and read what she had written. The two wolves from yesterday had been the same wolves that saved her years ago. Could it really be them?

"Impossible. The chances are too slim." Sion convinced herself and dismissed the idea, dropping the journal into her bag.

x – x - x

The next morning Sion emerged from the inn ready to grab a bite to eat and head away from Parlo. The streets were mostly empty and quiet. It seemed suspicious to Sion. She had always heard that Parlo was a crowded, busy place. The atmosphere was all wrong.

Suddenly, a few people ran by her screaming. She turned to see a huge demon marching slowly down the street.

Sion stood her ground, watching the demon step on and destroy anything in his path, living or not. When he was closer, she noticed a figure standing on his shoulder. Her eyes widened when she realized who it was.

Frey.

Sion turned and started to run, but was halted by the demon's gigantic fingers wrapping around her body and lifting her from the ground, as if she were only a doll. Her bag dropped to the ground, landing with a thud. She heard the horrid sounds of Frey's laughter and turned her head to look at him.

"Enjoy your day out, Sion?" Frey asked with an acid tongue.

"Let me go, Frey! I don't fucking belong to you!" Sion exclaimed, trying to squeeze out of the giant's grasp.

"On the contrary, Sion, you do belong to me." Frey's lips curved into a smirk as he snapped his fingers at the demon. The demon turned and headed towards the stronghold, Sion struggling fiercely the entire way.

x – x - x

For a few days, Sion wasn't allowed to leave her room. She had trashed it upon returning and sat in the filth, scratching her arms. Frey would often come by and laugh at her from the door, but nobody was allowed to speak to her. Life was harder than it had been before, and Frey emphasized it has much as he possibly could.

Finally she was allowed to walk about the stronghold, but she couldn't go into the gardens like before. Her first destination was the kitchens. The room was filled with servants cooking and cleaning. She looked about for Jiro, but instead found Aiko.

She was sitting in a corner at a wooden counter, robotically chopping vegetables. She was focused on her work, but seemed to not be completely there. The end of a bandage hung out of her shirt, barely noticeable. She started and nearly lost a finger when Sion touched her shoulder.

Frightened, Sion asked quietly, "Where is Jiro…?"

Aiko bit her lip and shook her head solemnly. "He was caught helping you; so was I."

"Where is he?" Sion asked, trying to remain calm. Aiko didn't respond. "Aiko, where is he!"

People turned to stare, but Sion ignored them. "Answer me, Aiko!"

"He's in his room."

Sion didn't waste a second in the kitchens. She ran down the hall, shoving anyone out of the way. So many possibilities of what happened passed through her mind, building up her anxiety more and more until it was unbearable. She pushed herself to run faster until she finally reached the door.

She couldn't open it. She stopped dead, her hand reached out for the handle. She scolded herself in her mind for not moving. Her body wouldn't budge. She pulled her hand back and… cried.

She cried because of her anger, for Jiro, and for Aiko. She glared hard at the door as hot tears ran over her cheeks before making the long fall to the floor.

The tears stopped almost as soon as they had come. She slowly reached for the door and pulled it open.

The room was dark except for a lamp on his desk. The bed sheets lied on the floor where they had been kicked off.

Jiro lied on the bed, his breathing steady and shallow. His body was in sad condition. He had no shirt, showing bloodied bandages wrapped poorly around great wounds. Cuts littered his face, which looked pained. His sleep was restless as nightmares plagued his mind.

Sion silently sat beside him. She watched him emotionlessly. This was _her _fault. He had been punished for _her _actions. Jiro was not a favorite of Frey's; torturing the cook made no difference to him, but he knew it would get to her and hold her there. Jiro was suffering for her.

Jiro was her first friend at the stronghold. When she was first brought there years ago he was the one who was kind to her and helped her to bear Frey. He was like her _brother_.

Gently, she pressed her fingers to his cheek. His skin was warm, signaling to her that there was still life left in him.

"I'm sorry…."

Sion started, pulling her hand away.

Jiro slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at her. "I'm sorry… you didn't get away…."

Sion shook her head. "Don't talk."

"But you didn't make it…." He whispered.

"How do you feel?" Sion asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Not… well…." Jiro started to slip back into sleep.

Sion got up leave so he could rest, but he weakly reached out his hand to stop her.

"Sion… Stay…."

She sat back down, but this time on the floor. She leaned against the bed.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"Of course." He replied and Sion's heart lifted.

Silence passed and Sion began to think that he had fallen back to sleep until he spoke.

"You know I love you like a sister, right Toyru?"

Sion smiled slightly to herself. "Yeah."

"Do you love me too?"

"Like a brother, I love you."

She turned back to look at him to find him smiling.

That was the last time the two spoke. Sion fell asleep against the bed and when she awoke, Jiro was gone. She immediately headed towards Frey's room, but ran into the demon lord along the way.

"Frey! Where is Jiro?"

He looked very solemn, but Sion knew it was a fake; he only wanted to mock her.

"I'm afraid he has left us." He held back a smile. "I'm sorry, Sion." Frey put a hand on her shoulder as he walked by. Sion remained in the hall, staring down at the floor in disbelief.

"He's… dead?"

x – x - x

Sion ran out into the garden, no longer caring about her restriction. She sought out a place near the stone barrier where the shrubs grew high and close together. She crouched down and laid her head against her knees. Her pants soon began to soak from the tears.

She didn't know how long she sat there, and she didn't really care. Looking up, she studied the wall wondering if there was some way to escape. But not expecting to, she found it.

Only a few feet from her there was a crack in the wall. She looked about her and then crawled to it to inspect it. It was just big enough for a person to squeeze through. Without wasting any time, Sion began to push herself through the hole.

A couple of scratches and profanities later, Sion sat on the ground outside the wall. She got up and brushed herself off, heading into the woods; but she was stopped by a rustling in the bushes nearby.

She turned to see the two wolves that had saved her days ago standing there, watching her. Sion just stood there and stared, wondering what the canines were going to do.

The white one stepped forwards and butted his head against the cat demon's hand. Cautiously, she stroked his head. The other wolf made his way to her and looked up at her as if still unsure whether to trust her or not. She ran her palm across his fur, calming his nerves.

The idea of escaping was totally forgotten. Sion's mind was completely distracted by the magnificent creatures in front of her. She probably sat there for hours just stroking their soft fur.

Dusk started to roll in before Sion realized what she was doing. She was sitting next to the wolves' sleeping forms, just staring at the ground. Suddenly, the wolves jumped up and started to pull Sion towards the bushes. The cat demon stood up, confused at the abrupt behavior, but the wolves barked and tried to usher her farther into the woods.

"What's going on?"

The question had been barely spoken when a blast went off, sending pieces of the stone wall everywhere. Sion was knocked down to the ground by a particularly large piece, and left unconscious.

x - x - x


	3. Division III

_**Unlikely Places**_

Kurama and Hiei approached the stronghold from the road to Parlo. It wasn't long until dusk, and the demons were planning to hide out until nightfall when their chances of ambushing were greater.

Frey wasn't stupid. Often demons looking to take Frey's fortune or steal his "throne" would ambush the stronghold by moonlight. Demon spies waited in various places. These spies now snuck from their positions and surrounded Kurama and Hiei.

Kurama immediately had his rose whip out and stood in a defensive stance; Hiei's sword was drawn and he was scanning the enemies with red orbs.

"Brilliant plan, Kurama." Hiei said sarcastically, keeping his red eyes locked on the opponents.

"There's always room for mistakes, Hiei." Kurama replied.

The demons wasted no more time and flung themselves at Kurama and Hiei, claws extended. Kurama jumped back, swinging his rose whip and when he landed Hiei took out the remaining demons with his katana.

"That wasn't very impressive." Hiei said, sheathing his sword. He looked disappointed.

"Look at it this way, we don't have to wait." Kurama approached the stronghold, his hands balled into fists.

They found an entrance on the south side. The rusting double gates were locked tight. Through the bars many demons stood, prepared to fight off the intruders.

With no trouble at all, Kurama and Hiei leapt to the top of the wall and landed with weapons drawn. This scuffle was as quick as the last one and soon the two detectives were inside the stronghold.

They bypassed the other demons, not wasting time on those who didn't pose a threat (to Hiei's distaste). By searching and a guess, they were able to find Frey's room.

The demon lord stood in the gardens with his door wide open and his back turned to the intruders. The cold wind blew his hair to the side, giving brief glimpses of a long sword he held in his right hand.

"Why are you here, Ko-Enma scum?" Frey asked calmly, turning his head slightly so that he could see them over his shoulder.

"I don't have any words for you." Kurama replied indifferently.

"Oh, but you just gave me some." Frey said in an eerily pleasant voice as he turned his body completely around to face them.

"Don't try to talk to him, Kurama." Hiei said. "Let's get this over with."

"Very well." Kurama pulled a rose from his hair that immediately transformed into his trademark weapon.

Hiei's sword was immediately drawn and he ran towards Frey, but at the last second he used his speed to seemingly disappear. He 'reappeared' above Frey, his blade ready to split the lord down the middle.

But Frey knew what was coming, and turned to meet Hiei's blade with his own. Hiei landed on his feet, an angry expression searing through Frey.

Kurama came up behind Frey and attempted to decapitate the demon lord. At the same moment, Hiei charged towards Frey, sword ready to impale him.

Frey leapt into the air to avoid both assaults, but Kurama was able to manipulate his whip to wrap around the lord's ankle.

Not many demons can maneuver well in the air and Frey is not a part of this genre. The whip caught his ankle and he was pulled roughly to the ground. Hiei immediately took this chance to attack.

Shock slowed Frey down and if he had remained to the ground he would have only received a hole through the stomach. However, Frey instantly tried to get up and away and in the process lost his left arm. Blood poured from the wound, tarnishing Frey's white robes. With an agonizing cry, he held out his remaining hand and energy began to quickly gather to one spot atop his palm.

What preceded this only took a couple of moments to complete. As the energy blast flew towards Hiei and Kurama, the sound of Frey's blood curdling screams erupted. Kurama and Hiei were able to direct the blast away from them, throwing it into the stone wall.

The scene that lay before them when the smoke cleared was this: Frey's body lay engulfed by a plant that had grown from his ankle, pieces of a once solid stone wall lay about, and a good part of the stronghold was demolished. Many servants that Hiei had so unwillingly spared fled from their prison.

Hiei didn't stop to gaze however and headed back towards the way they had come.

"Wait, Hiei." Kurama said.

The fire youkai stopped and looked with annoyance to his partner.

"Let's leave through there," Kurama pointed to the massive passageway through the barrier, "It's probably a faster route."

Hiei said nothing and followed Kurama, stepping carefully over the rubble. When he reached the start of the woods he stopped.

"What now?" Hiei asked growing more aggravated with each passing second.

Kurama simply replied, "Look."

Ahead of him, two wolves stood baring fangs over the body of a cat demon. Kurama approached slowly and kneeled down to take the demon's pulse, keeping one eye on the wolves.

"She's still alive," Kurama said. "This is Sion Chimia."

x - x - x

The wolves left as soon as Kurama lifted Sion from the ground. The cat demon could now be found sleeping soundly on the bed in Kurama's guest room. Hiei sat outside in a tree, watching through the window. He was uneasy about the girl, not wanting to trust a former servant of a demon lord. But Kurama's pure, human heart didn't want to leave her there to die.

"She'll try to kill us when she wakes up." Hiei said impassively as he watched Kurama haul the limp figure up the stairs.

"I'm sure we can handle her, Hiei."

"Hiei, what are you doing?" Kurama called up to the fire youkai, shielding his eyes from the sun.

Hiei looked down at him, but didn't respond. Instead, he jumped down to stand in front of him.

"Hey! What're y'all doin'?"

The two demons turned to see a blonde-haired, red eyed vampire approaching them. She was carrying a plastic shopping bag with a large, red cross on it.

Kurama smiled at the she-vampire. "Were you able to find all of supplies, Sakura?"

She nodded, opening the bag and looking into it, though not really checking for things. "I'm pretty sure."

"I left the plants on the dresser."

"What is that for?" Hiei asked, glaring at the bag.

"For Sion." Kurama replied.

"You wanna go nurse her?" Sakura asked sarcastically, holding out the bag.

Hiei glared hard at her. "Why heal her?"

"I don't want a dead demon on my hands, Hiei. The spirit world would start poking around and we'd all be in trouble." Kurama replied rationally.

"You would rather die yourself, then?" Hiei asked and then disappeared. He reappeared on the top branch of the tree.

"He's such a crybaby." Sakura grumbled and walked into the house.

The guest room was dark and silent; even the sound of Sion's breathing was barely noticeable. It was a plain room, consisting only of a bed and a dresser against the right wall. The walls were painted white and the window hadn't been opened in years. The floor was simply tan carpet.

Sitting atop the dresser was a bowl with a mucky, green substance inside. Sakura set the bag beside the bed and picked up the bowl; the crunched plants would serve as antibiotic for the wounds.

Her wounds were not very many but some were extremely deep, probably made by sharp edges of the stone. She had lost a lot of blood through these nasty openings and her color had paled considerably. Sakura worked carefully to clean and bandage each injury.

"How's it going?" Kurama asked from the door.

"This shoulda been done sooner. Hopefully nothin' becomes infected." Sakura replied and sat back.

"Are you finished?" Kurama asked, looking over at Sion's unconscious form.

Sakura looked over her handiwork and then started putting away her supplies. "I'm finished." She said, standing up and picking up the bag and bowl. She followed Kurama down the stairs into the kitchen. The bowl dropped into the sink and she opened the cabinet to store the first aid kit. Finished, she walked over to the bar where Kurama sat. before either could say anything, however, a loud thud came from upstairs.

Sakura and Kurama exchanged looks and then ran upstairs to the quest room. They opened the door to see Sion pulling herself to her feet, using the dresser as support. The demon had tried to stand, but her wounds had immobilized her for a few days. Her legs would have to adjust to walking again.

But she did more than just walking. When she spotted Kurama and Sakura her eyes narrowed into a glare. She straightened herself up stiffly.

"You shouldn't be on your feet." Kurama said.

"Shut up!" Sion exclaimed, angered by being stuck in an unknown place. "Where the hell am I!?"

"The Ningenkai." Sakura replied, watching Sion distrustfully. Sion dug her claws into the dresser, her gaze spelling 'D-E-A-T-H'.

Within seconds, a blast went off and Sakura and Kurama had to dive to the floor to avoid it. Sion left the room and glared at each of them in turn.

"Which one of you brought me here?" she asked, but neither answered. They got to their feet and made eye contact briefly. Kurama began analyzing the damage to the hallway wall out of the corner of his eye, knowing his mother would have a duck when she saw it.

Sion swung around to face Kurama, forgetting about Sakura. She lifted her hand to be even with his neck and energy began to gather at her palm.

Sakura took this chance to run downstairs. She slid into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. She started to run back upstairs, but something grabbed her wrist. She turned to see Hiei standing there.

"Don't."

"What—"

Sakura was cut off by a loud sound and then a yelp. She turned to see Sion picking herself up off the living room floor. Kurama stood at the foot of the stairs holding himself up with the wall. His clothes were slightly charred; he must have hit Sion's own blast back at her.

Hiei walked past the she-vampire and stood over Sion, aiming his katana at her throat.

Sion glared up at him. "You think you can stop me?"

"No, I already know that I can." Hiei glared back. "You're going to attract humans, you imbecile."

"Then you shouldn't have brought me here." Sion grumbled.

"I guess you would rather die? I can arrange it if you want," said Hiei indifferently.

Sion just glared harder and shoved the blade away. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"We just want to help you." Kurama said.

Sion turned on Kurama. For a moment, she just glared but finally she said, "You're a demon. You should know that it's no help to be in the human world!" she said 'human' with such disgust it could kill one.

"You're face is gonna freeze that way if you glare anymore." For that comment, Sakura received her very own glare from the neko. "You were injured. They brought you here before you were killed in the Makai."

Sion turned her back on them, crossing her arms. Her mind was fuming but she hadn't wanted to die. The thought of having to be grateful to demons whose hearts had been tainted by humans really didn't appeal to her at all. "You killed Frey?"

Kurama nodded. "Yes."

Sion sighed and looked down to the floor. "Then… thanks." She said painfully and cringed.

x – x – x


	4. Division IV

_**Unlikely Places**_

The sound of wolves howling at the moon woke Sion from her sleep late that night. The cat demon sat up slowly and walked to the window. The full moon was high above the world, bathing the landscape in silver light.

Sion sat on the sill and looked up at the glowing orb. Where were her wolves? Could they be looking for her or have they moved on?

She leaned her head against the window glass and closed her eyes. "Listen to me… 'my wolves'. They're not my property." She muttered.

_The water rippled towards the small island in the center. Moonlight danced upon the gentle waves. Sitting on the island was the young Sion. Her puffy eyes were red and her cheeks stained from tears._

"_Salika, Tamika!" she called out but received no reply._

_Standing up, the little girl sucked in her sobs and made a fist, attempting to show strength. But a rustle in the bushes caused her to duck down and hug her knees. Shivering and biting her lip, she called out, "Who's there?"_

_A boy about her age with spiky black hair, a white starburst in the front, and devilish red eyes stepped out of the bushes. He wore a black robe covered by a torn and badly ripped gray cape that dragged a few feet behind him. He held a sword that was taller than him and a look that proclaimed he had killed before._

_Sion stood up cautiously. "Who are you?" _

_The boy smirked and was gone. He reappeared behind her, holding the katana to her neck. "No one. But I know you."_

_Sion stood stiff. "Y-You do?"_

"_Yes." He replied. "You're my next victim."_

"_No!" Sion panicked and flung her arm back, hitting him in the face. The boy fell over, his sword swiping across her neck and living a small cut. She turned to look down at him with fierce determination, ignoring the blood seeping from her neck. "You can't kill me! Not until I find Salika and Tamika!"_

_The boy looked up at her in shock, as if he'd never been knocked back before. But then he looked angry. "What?"_

"_You heard me." Sion pursed her lips. "When I find my wolves, then you can kill me if you want."_

Sion gave a start and looked around. She had fallen asleep leaning against the window. Her cheek was cold and the window had small creek of drool freezing to it. But she wasn't concerned about that, it was the dream.

"That looked like…."

In a tree nearby, Hiei had just awoken from the same dream. He narrowed his eyes at the moon. "It's the same girl."

x – x – x

"That was strange."

"What?" Kurama gave the she-vampire a confused look over the top of his book.

It was getting to be late now and Sakura was sitting on the floor in front of the television playing a video game. Kurama sat on the couch behind her reading a thick novel.

"The way Hiei acted with Sion." she said, not moving her eyes away from the game.

"You're just now commenting on it?" Kurama asked and book marked his place. It had been a couple of days since the incident with Sion.

"I've been thinkin' 'bout it." The game's protagonist was shot and fell into a puddle of his own blood as the words "GAME OVER" flashed onto the screen in bold, bleeding letters. Sakura set the controller down and turned to face Kurama. "Don't'cha think it was strange?"

"Well… it was sort of peculiar but it wasn't enough to make me think on it for a few days. What is bothering you?"

"He showed her _mercy_. Hiei never shows anyone mercy." Sakura reasoned.

"He didn't kill Bui when he requested for him to." Kurama paused for a moment. "Do you think he's met Sion before?"

Sakura thought or a few seconds and then muttered, "I wonder…."

The very next morning Sakura picked up a tray of breakfast from the counter and headed up the stairs to Sion's room. She used her foot to tap the door.

"What?" came Sion's curt response.

"Breakfast!" Sakura sang.

"No. Go away."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "C'mon! Eat somethin', neko!"

There was a pause and then the door opened. "Why should I?" A pair of eyes glowed dangerously from the dark room.

Sakura sweatdropped and laughed sheepishly. "W-We don't want'cha to get sick, y'know…." she said with a little stutter.

Sion backed away from the door and went to shut it, but Sakura put her foot between the door and its threshold. Her foot was squashed and she cringed, but she said nothing about it.

"Just eat! It won't kill ya to eat but it will kill ya if ya don't!"

Sion grumbled angrily and opened the door wide enough for her to grab the plate and retreat quickly inside. However, Sakura didn't remove her foot.

"What do you want, bloodsucker? I'm eating, isn't that what you wanted?" Sion asked irritably.

"You're so antisocial, all you do is mope around in this room."

Sion's eyebrow twitched.

"Why don't we chat for a little while? I promise not to stay too long." The grin on her visage was annoyingly silly.

Sion raised an eyebrow and her ears sat back against her head. "Fine." she said shortly and backed away from the door, returning to her bed.

Sakura walked inside and flipped on the light. Sion winced but grew used to the change quickly. She sat in the far corner of her bed, far from Sakura.

Thinking it unsafe to take a seat on the bed, Sakura sat on the windowsill and gazed out the window. She caught the glimpse of a black blur escaping into the sky and smirked vaguely, realizing she had been spotted by Hiei. That meant that he had been watching Sion's window. _Interesting._ Sakura pushed back her grin and turned to Sion. "So…"

Sion watched her, expecting her to continue. When she didn't, Sion spat, "I thought you wanted to chat? So _chat_."

"Right, right," Sakura said quickly. "Where are you from?"

"Makai."

Sakura sweatdropped. "I meant… more specifically."

Sion hesitated, but eventually replied, "I'm from a neko demon village in the far east."

"Oh I see." Sakura watched her. Residents of those villages barely ever left their homes, and to be at this certain gate of the two worlds she had to have traveled far.

"How did you…," Sakura paused, unsure if she should ask the upcoming question, "How did you end up with Frey?"

Sion's muscles visibly tensed and she ceased nibbling on her food. She looked up at Sakura without raising her head. "_Why?_" she asked accusingly.

Sakura grinned nervously and waved her hands back and forth in front of her face. "No-Nothing! Just curious!"

The room fell silent and within a few moments, Sion was back to picking at her food. They remained silent for several minutes, the only sounds coming from Sion's chewing. Finally, the cat demon sat the tray aside and stood up, crossing her arms and gazing directly into the red eyes of the she-vampire.

"What do you really want to know? Spit it out." she said abruptly.

Sakura's eyes widened some in surprise. She stood up, if for no other reason to keep their height the same so that neither felt more powerful than the other. "I told you I just wanted to chat," she said nonchalantly.

Sion's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Yeah fucking right. Spit it out or _get_ out."

Sakura sighed, realizing she had been found out. "Fine." She ran a hand through her hair, disheveling the part. "What is between you and Hiei?"

"Nothing." Sion said immediately and turned away from Sakura.

Sakura looked unconvinced. "Oh really? That was a very suspicious response."

"Even if there was something, what business would it be of yours, eh bloodsucker?" Sion spat, glancing vaguely over her shoulder.

Sakura puffed up, feeling indignant. "Hiei never shows mercy like that. He would have had to have seen you before."

"He saw me at Frey's, is that what you want? Now get your nose out of my fucking business and go back to fox-boy." Sion sent a glare her way before swiftly marching from the room. Sakura followed her out in to the hall, but Sion had already used her speed to get out of the house before she got there.

"No luck?" Kurama asked, coming down the hall from his room.

Sakura just shook her head and sighed.

x – x – x


	5. Division V

_**Unlikely Places**_

Sion headed directly for the woods behind the house. She walked stiffly and quickly, her short blonde hair bouncing and flowing in the wind. Her arms were crossed tightly and her eyes were downcast, unfocused. _How would she know if something was between me and that fire demon? Does that fox know anything?_ These sorts of thoughts plagued her mind as she walked deeper and deeper into the woods. Although the brightest part of the day was approaching, it was growing darker and darker as she walked. She wasn't pay any attention to her surroundings, not until she slipped and slid down a bank into a river.

"Oh, god damn it!" she cursed loudly and stood up, using her hand to try and wipe the mud from her clothes, her visage showing a look of disgust. "Man, what a day. First that damn vampire bothers me and now my only set of clothes are nasty." She stopped her hopeless cleaning and looked around at where she was. The sound of the creek flowing around her ankles filled her ears. The canopy was so thick with leaves and branches that she couldn't even see the sky anymore. Very small, scarce beams of sunlight shined through, one shining right onto her forehead, like the aiming beam of a sniper.

Sion's ears suddenly flicked to the side as the sound of snickering floated into the area. Her eyes darted around fiercely, searching for any sign of her pursuer. She didn't move or make a sound. The snickers died down and her muscles tensed up.

A demon came tearing out of the bushes and she jumped high into the air. He quickly changed his flight path and headed after her. With a grimace, Sion realized that he was a flying demon and she wouldn't be able to dodge. His fist collided with her chin and she hit the ground hard, her feet dangling into the creek.

She immediately jerked her head up to look at her attacker. He was floating not far above her head, his arms crossed over his chest and a sickening grin on his face. He had the appearance of a human, all except for a pair of green, bat-like wings protruding from his shoulder blades. His blond hair was short, with a small rattail and his eyes were narrow and blue. He wore a simple, black martial arts uniform with a red belt around his waist.

"What the fuck do you want!?" Sion spat as she pushed herself off the ground and regained her composure. She clenched her fist and glared up at him, waiting for her chance to attack.

"Tell me, _Sion_, have you ever heard of the Bengosha?"

Sion's eyes widened. "Bengosha?" The Bengosha was a small organization that Frey had put together to protect him. Each member of the Bengosha had been a fighter for Frey for at least five years and each one Frey trusted dearly with his life. If anything were to ever happen to Frey, the Bengosha swore to avenge him before taking their lives.

The demon smirked. "So, you have heard of us. I am Isao, the second oldest of the organization."

Sion smirked. "I've heard of you all right. You're those _idiots_ who want to kill yourselves now since you're precious Frey isn't around. Too damn bad, fucking emos."

Isao's confident smirk melted away and he clenched his teeth angrily. "So I'm an emo, really?"

"Shut the hell up and fight me—"

Sion was suddenly cut off by the sound of rustling bushes and a body colliding with her own. She was thrown to the ground, sliding in the mud of the bank. She looked up abruptly and found a demon with the same appearance of Isao smirking at her. The only difference between Isao and this demon was the length of their hair; this demon's hair was long and bound back in a braid.

"What the fuck!?" Sion jumped up and pulled back, groping for her sword and finding herself without. Cursing colorfully, she held her fists up and glared back and forth between Isao and the newcomer.

"Meet my twin brother, Iwao." Isao said, his smug countenance returning.

Iwao lifted up into the hair to join his brother's side. "It is nice to finally meet Master Frey's play thing, this one will greatly enjoy fighting her." said the demon with an impish grin.

"Bring it on!" Sion used the bank as a brace and pushed herself off the ground, leaping high into the air. She aimed at Isao, swinging a punch towards his face. He simply flew back and Iwao became the next target. Sion swung as many punches and kicks as she could before falling back to the ground. Her toes only touched for a moment before she sprang back up and swung her leg around to hook Iwao in the neck. Iwao snickered and grabbed her ankle and swung her around before releasing her, sending her flying towards Isao.

Isao caught her, his nails digging into the sides of her neck. Sion struggled, but Isao only laughed. Suddenly, lightning bolts jumped through her body from Isao's fingertips. The pain was immense. Her organs felt as if they were being unstructured by a thousand knives and her eyes began to water, tears of pain running over her cheeks. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, drawing blood. Isao could kill her right here and now easily and she was helpless.

Enduring the pain, she swung her leg around to hit him, but Isao let her go and drop kicked her to the ground before returning to the air.

Sion remained laying on the ground, blood seeping from a new wound in her stomach. Her clothes were tattered and torn, with burn marks and her body was littered with small places were the skin had been ruptured by the lightning bolts. She gasped for breath and had to roll over so that the blood swelling in her throat could be vomited out. She held herself up on weak arms and glared at the ground, her chest rising and falling heavily.

"Aw, Isao always uses that attack on opponents. This one is getting bored with it." Iwao said in a pouting voice.

"Oh shut up, Iwao. You never even use your technique." Isao said.

Sion growled. Listening to these idiots babble only pissed her off more. She sat up slowly, her wounds stinging and hindering her motion. She made it all the way to her left foot, before a wound seemed to explode on her side. A gulp of blood spurted out and she fell over, cringing with the pain. "Damn… it…" she muttered through clenched teeth.

"Would you like to do the honors, Iwao?" Isao asked, chuckling mischievously.

"Yes, this one would like to do the honors." Iwao chortled and Sion watched as he wanted next to her. He held his hand out so that his palm was directed at her skull. Green colored energy began to gather and swirl around his palm, the sphere growing bigger and bigger with each passing moment.

Sion clenched her teeth and tried to move out of aim, but even if she did avoid a direct hit she could be killed by the blast that would created. So, at a loss for what to do, she rolled over and covered the back of her neck.

The sound of powering up energy abruptly stopped and was replaced by a gurgling scream. Sion rolled over and found herself staring at Hiei, his sword stabbed through the back of Iwao's head and through his throat.

"Bastard!" screamed Isao, fear evident in his eyes even though his visage showed anger. "I'll kill you!" Lightning began to jump between his fingertips rapidly.

Hiei smirked and yanked his sword from Iwao's body. Blood slid down the steel blade and dripped from its tip, but Hiei paid no attention. Instead, he watched Isao prepare for his attach, his smirk looking amused.

The lightning energy grew until it was jumping the length of his arm. All at once, the energy compressed into his palm and he shot it at Hiei.

A flash of light blinded Sion and she covered her eyes. When all was clear, she looked up. Hiei was standing next to her, looking indifferent. Isao lied a few feet off, a sword sticking out from his heart.

Sion slowly pushed herself off the ground and stumbled to her feet. She wasn't able to keep vertical long because her eyesight blurred and she stumbled forwards. She never hit the ground; instead, two arms caught her around the waist. She looked up and saw Hiei looking impassively back at her. As much as she'd like to protest, she just didn't have the strength for it at the moment.

She never lost consciousness. Hiei carried her away from that area into a clearing where sunlight shone freely. He helped her to sit on an old trunk and then stepped back, sticking his hands in his pocket.

Sion didn't look at him. She was indignant about being saved. Her strength returned slowly as the wounds clotted. _They really aren't that bad_, Sion thought, lifting an arm to look at a couple of the cuts.

"What were you doing out here?" Hiei asked after awhile.

"Taking a walk." Sion replied, still looking downcast.

"This deep in the woods?" Hiei waited for a response, but he never received one. "Who were those demons?"

Sion hesitated for a moment, and then said, "The Bengosha; Frey's suicide squad."

Hiei raised an eyebrow at her; Sion looked up at him finally.

"Frey put together a small group of his most trusted fighters that would avenge him if he was killed, and then kill themselves." Sion explained, rubbing her thumb over a wound on her cheek.

"Imbeciles." Hiei replied.

"Mhm." Sion agreed and looked back down at the wounds.

A few moments passed silently before Hiei spoke, "You should let the fox or that vampire see those."

Sion paused and looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "_Why?_"

"They're more medically inclined than I am." Hiei replied. He took his sword from it's sheath and inspected it. It was crusted with blood and small bits of skin. Looking unfazed by the mess, Hiei wiped the blade on his cloak and then returned the still dirty blade to its hold.

"Why did you save me?" Sion asked, watching him.

"Hn?"

Sion looked away, suddenly remembering her dream from the other night. "Why did you save me… when years ago you tried to kill me?" she asked, knowing that it could very well have just been a dream and nothing more. Hiei's reaction would confirm it.

Hiei's eyes widened and he watched her, unsure of how to respond to her question. His thoughts were interrupted by a pair of growls. Hiei turned towards the sound, immediately pulling the sword from his belt. Sion's ears stood up straight as she watched anxiously.

Two wolves emerged from the brush, their stride bold and prideful. One wolf had fur like snow, and the other was ebony.

"Salika… Tamika…." Sion said airily, recognizing the wolves right away.

Hiei's sword arm relaxed as he turned to look at Sion. After studying her expression for a moment he looked back at the canines.

"The same ones," he muttered, "the same damn wolves."

Sion glanced quickly up at Hiei and began to form a question, but she was distracted by the wolves slowly forming a circle around Hiei. His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword and he watched the wolves carefully.

The wolves growled and hunched down, ready to pounce. Sion rose to her feet exclaiming, "No!"

The wolves stopped and relaxed their muscles. Their beautiful eyes watched the cat demon questionately.

"Salika, Tamika… come here." she said firmly, but her face told that she was unsure of commanding them.

The wolves obeyed reluctantly. Watching Hiei closely, they trudged over to Sion and sat at her feet, looking up at her sheepishly.

Hiei watched them his sword still drawn and the tip digging into the ground.

Sion kneeled down and placed her hands on the wolves' heads, scratching them affectionately behind the ears. "Good, don't attack him." she said softly.

Hiei put away his sword and turned his body to face them. "You're that _girl_…," he said, realization evident on his face.

Sion looked up at him, confused.

Hiei's eyes fell on her neck, where the skinny scar was visible. He stepped forwards cautiously and squatted in front of her.

Sion drew back only a little; she was curious about what he was doing. She couldn't stop a slight blush coming to her cheeks or the flipping of her stomach.

Hiei reached out and touched his fingertips to that scar, and then drew back as if he were burned. "I gave you that scar…."

The wolves' tails flicked back and forth and they watched Hiei with distrust

Sion nodded, looking away from him. "You did." she said simply and quietly.

Hiei didn't respond... he didn't know how to respond. Anyone else would have felt an apology was in order, not him. But at this moment he did feel as if he should apologize. Fearing his own emotions, Hiei stood and began to leave.

"Hiei, wait." Sion said and he stopped. She stood up and held her wrist in her hand, unconsciously scratching it. She swallowed hard and sighed. "Thank you… for helping me." She said, the words feeling foreign to her tongue.

Hiei looked at the ground. "Don't thank me, Sion." he replied.

Sion shook her head. "No, call me Toyru."

Hiei turned to look at her with a surprised and confused expression.

"It's my name, but only certain people are allowed to know it _and_ use it." she explained, trying to hold back a small smile.

Hiei nodded and disappeared into the trees, but not before Sion caught a glimpse of his smile.

x – x – x


	6. Division VI

**_Unlikely Places_**

Kurama and Sakura stood on the back porch ad watched as Sion returned, escorted by her wolves. She seemed content though her visage was indifferent. It was the way she held herself; the way her step seemed to bounce that gave her an air of happiness.

"What happened to you?" Sakura asked, seeing the many cuts and her tattered clothes.

"I will tell you inside." She looked to Kurama. "You'll want to know this." Kurama nodded and showed her in.

Salika and Tamika curled up at the door and watched as Sion walked inside, followed by Kurama and Sakura. The three took a seat on the couches; Kurama and Sakura sat across from Sion, watching her expectantly.

Sion was looking over her dirty clothes, making faces at the state they were in. This brought her condition back to Kurama's attention.

"Would you like to have a shower first? I'm sure you can borrow a set of Sakura's clothes and we can see to your wounds." He said, glancing at Sakura who nodded.

Sion agreed and followed Sakura to her room, which happened to be Kurama's room as well. Sion gave Sakura a knowing smirk, causing a blush to grace the vampire's visage. She quickly pulled out a simple band shirt and a pair of baggy jeans and handed them to the cat demon. Without a word, she headed out of the room.

About two hours later, Sion sat clean and patched up on the couch, Sakura and Kurama across from her as before.

What did you want to tell us?" Sakura asked.

"It has more to do with Kurama, but you could easily get dragged into it." Sion said indifferently.

Sakura and Kurama looked at each other, a bit alarmed.

"What is going on?" inquired Kurama.

Sion explained about the Bengosha and their purpose to Frey. The couple on the opposite couch listened closely. When Sion had finished, Kurama asked, "Avenge? You mean the Bengosha plan to kill whoever wronged Frey?"

"And then they'll commit suicide." Sion added.

Sakura bit her lip, scratching her head out of habit. "That means they'll try to kill Kurama and Hiei."

"And me, possibly you just because you're close to fox boy." Sion replied, crossing her arms and leaning against the back of the couch.

"What of their strength?" Kurama asked, obviously running many thoughts through his mind.

"High B-class and the leader is probably A."

"How many?"

"There's five in the group. But two are dead, the weaker ones." Sion admitted, gritting her teeth.

Kurama raised an eyebrow in question.

"They attacked me in the woods, but Hiei killed them." she explained in simplicity.

Kurama nodded, wondering why Sakura was smirking at Sion.

Sion responded with a blush and a glare; Kurama brushed it off as something simply between them and said thoughtfully, "we'll need Hiei if they were to attack us."

"Where is he?" Sakura asked.

Kurama frowned. "I don't know." He looked to Sion as if she might know.

Sion only shrugged. "I guess he's still in the woods."

Kurama sighed. "I guess we'll have to wait and hope he turns up before those demons too."

Sion nodded in agreement, secretly hoping that he would show up soon.

x – x – x

A few mornings later Sakura rapped on Sion's door, waking the demon from her sleep. The wary neko opened the door and looked at the vampire through unfocused eyes.

Sakura was dressed for the day in jeans and a slim fitting tee. She seemed to have been awake for some time. "Morning, Sion!" she sang and grinned, knowing her chipper attitude would annoy her.

Sion's eyes narrowed. "What time is it? What do you want?"

"It's nearly eleven." Sakura replied and then answered her second question, "We're going shopping."

"What for?"

"You some clothes."

"No, I'm fine." Sion attempted to close the door, but Sakura blocked its path with her foot.

"No, you're not." she said. "You can't wear my clothes forever."

A few moments passed and Sion sighed. "Fine." Sakura removed her foot and the door shut. She headed down to the living room and in about fifteen minutes Sion appeared at the foot of the stairs, yawning.

"Let's go!" Sakura said happily and headed for the door.

"Wait." Sion said.

Sakura turned around and blinked at her.

Sion's stomach growled as she uttered one word, "Food."

Sakura laughed, "We can eat later!" Clearly the vampire didn't understand appetite.

Sion only grumbled and growled when a hat and coat hit her. "What!?"

"Put them on to hide your ears and tail." Sakura said as she pulled on a cadet hat, blonde hair being forced to hide her pointed ears. Sion pulled on the clothes and then followed the vampire into the city.

They visited many shops without buying a thing, much to the dismay of Sion who grew grumpier and grumpier from hunger. As the two girls left yet another shop a voice rang out, attracting their attention.

"Hey! Sakura!"

Yuusuke and Kuwabara approached them, grinning. Sakura smiled in return and Sion raised an eyebrow. The two boys stopped next to them and Yuusuke gestured to Sion.

"Is that Sion?" he asked. Sakura nodded.

"How do you know my name?" Sion accused.

"We're psychic." Yuusuke said giving her a cheeky grin. Sion growled.

"So," Sakura said, interrupting them, "What are you guys up to?"

"Urameshi is running away from Keiko," said Kuwabara, snickering through his teeth.

Yuusuke clenched his teeth angrily and slammed his fist into Kuwabara's head.

Sakura laughed and Sion spared a smirk.

"_Yuusuke!_"

The four froze at hearing Keiko's loud, angry voice.

"Let's go!" Yuusuke and Kuwabara took off running, Sakura and Sion following suit. They dodged people and jumped through traffic before disappearing down an alley.

The four finally stopped to catch their breath. Yuusuke leaned against the wall and busted into laughter.

"She's going to kill you, man." Sakura said, grinning. Sion only watched, amused.

"So, that's shorty's girlfriend?" Kuwabara asked once he caught his breath. He was looking at Sion.

Sion narrowed her eyes at him and turned to Sakura catching her in the middle of gesturing for Kuwabara to be quiet.

"What did you tell them?" she asked venomously.

"Nothin'!" Sakura said quickly in her defense.

All speech was cut off by five unfamiliar snickers. The four turned to see a rough bunch of high schoolers climbing out from behind trash cans and down from the windows from the buildings that surrounded them. Their black uniforms were dirty and torn. Each boy looked as if showers were a foreign affair and their hair was a shaggy mess.

Yuusuke's face immediately turned to stone, as did Kuwabara's. Sakura rolled her eyes and muttered to Sion, "Human gangs."

"Look-it what we got 'ere." said one boy, obviously the leader.

"Shove off." Kuwabara said acidly, spitting at their feet.

The leader's eyes narrowed. "Kuwabara, eh? I got a score to settle with ya."

Two of the boys suddenly appeared behind Sakura and Sion, grabbing them around the waist and holding down their arms. The girls reacted quickly and slammed their heels into the boys' crotches. The boys doubled over in pain.

This set off everybody else. The rest of the gang jumped Yuusuke and Kuwabara. Sakura jumped into help and Sion stood back, tapping her foot and chewing her lip, looking extremely annoyed. After the brawl had gone on for a few long minutes, she stated loudly, "I'm fucking hungry so can you wrap this up?"

Immediately, everyone stopped and turned to look at her, blinking. The gang that had ambushed them looked more beat up than Yuusuke, Kuwabara, and Sakura, though each shared their own scratches. Before the fighting could commence, another voice distracted them.

"_Yuusuke Urameshi!_What in the world do you think you're doing!?" There was a loud smack as Keiko's palm made contact with Yuusuke's cheek and he stumbled back into the wall. The small schoolgirl turned to the gang, narrowing her eyes. "Go home to your mothers and take a bath!" she barked. The gang nodded vigorously before scrambling away, tripping over their own feet.

"Well, we've gotta go! Good to see ya again!" Sakura said, laughing nervously. "Gotta finish shoppin', y'know!" She grabbed Sion's wrist and drug the confused neko from the alley.

x – x – x

Time began to pass steadily and uneventfully. Sakura and Sion began to become friends and could often be found sitting in front of the Playstation 2, yelling good-natured, competitive threats at one another. Sion was becoming more than civil with them and had even been eating at the table. She would ask for a spar in the backyard every now and then to keep her skills up and after about a month, she began to explore the city on her own.

Sion kept it to herself, but often at night she would catch Hiei looking in on her. He would never flee immediately, but pause and make eye contact with her before seemingly disappearing. She didn't know what is was, but she began to look forwards to those nights. She never told Kurama or Sakura because she felt that Hiei wasn't ready to come back completely, not yet. Nevertheless, the half-demon began to find herself daydreaming more and more about the fire demon.

Over two months passed and Sakura and Sion were playing their daily game of Soul Calibur II. Usually, Sakura was on the losing end but today she finally won her first match. Instead of celebrating, she felt something odd about it. She looked over to the neko and caught her staring off into space.

Sakura smirked. "Dreaming about Hiei again?" she asked, in a normal tone.

"Yeah…." replied Sion airily and then she shook her head, quickly replacing her statement with, "Wait—NO!"

Sakura laughed and put down her controller. "I knew it! So you i _do /i _love him!"

"Shh!" Sion looked around for anyone else. "Just because I daydream about him doesn't mean I love him!"

Sakura gave her an impish grin.

Sion raised her eyebrows. "What?"

Sakura laughed, "You just admitted to daydreaming about him!"

"What? No!" Sion growled and hid her face, blushing deeply.

Sakura perked up and smiled. "You can tell me the truth. It's not like I could tell Hiei (though he should know), but he hates me." She laughed sheepishly.

Sion watched Sakura quietly for a few moments and then said resignedly, "Will you really keep it a secret?"

Sakura nodded and sat tai-iku style, waiting to hear what Sion had to say.

"I guess you're right… I—" she swallowed, "—I love him." she stared down at her hands, obviously confused by the emotion. "I don't know why…."

"You can't explain that, but this isn't something to be embarrassed about." Sakura smiled.

Sion looked up at her. "It's considered weak in demons."

"Psh!" Sakura laughed. "I'd like to hear what they say about that! Kurama loves and he's one of the strongest demons in the Makai!" she grinned. "Don't worry about it, but you need to tell Hiei."

"I guess I do," Sion said quietly, covering a small smile with her hand.

x – x – x


	7. Division VII

_**Unlikely Places**_

Only a week after Sion's confession, Hiei turned up. Kurama walked out in the backyard early one morning to check the garden. A heavy rain had gone on through the night and could have damaged it. As the redhead bent over the greens, Hiei appeared out of the darkness of the trees.

"So, finally showing up?" Kurama asked, not even looking up. He seemed to have been expecting him.

"Hn."

"She's been waiting you know," the fox said calmly.

Hiei tensed. "Who?"

Kurama stopped in his work and looked up. "Sion, who else?"

Hiei looked away, pouting slightly. "I know."

"You do?" Kurama didn't sound surprised. "So, you _have_ been sneaking around here." he said in realization.

Hiei raised his eyebrows. "How do you know that?"

"It's not that hard to sense you're energy constantly coming and going." Kurama explained.

Hiei turned away, scrutinizing the ground.

"Will you stay?"

Hiei nodded; his gaze still to the ground.

Sion stood at her window, watching the scene between Kurama and Hiei. She smiled some, being able to hear what they were saying.

"So, is he staying?"

Sion's ears stuck up and she turned around in surprise. She had been straining to hear their conversation and had let her guard down, causing her to not notice Sakura come in.

"Yeah." she replied simply and turned back around.

Sakura walked up to her, grinning impishly.

Sion narrowed her eyes and her ears laid back. "What?"

Sakura just kept grinning. "You know," she sang.

Sion's cheeks turned pink and she turned away from her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sakura started laughing. "You two are perfect for each other—completely stubborn." Sion growled.

Hiei came into the house and found his usual spot by the window. Sakura prodded Sion down the stairs and pushed her into the living room before hopping out the back door. Sion growled at the vampire and turned to look at Hiei.

Hiei held his head back and smirked at her. "Hey, neko." He used his hand to gesture her over.

Cautiously, Sion walked over and sat next to him. She blinked at him, not knowing what to say.

Hiei reached into his cloak and pulled out a small, silver bracelet made of small chain links. A black heart hung from it near the bar and circle clasp. It was gorgeous when the light hit it just right.

"Here." He held the bracelet out to her.

Sion blinked and gaped at it. "Hiei… that's beautiful." She slowly reached out and took it.

"I got it off a B-class demon; had to kill him for it." Hiei said casually.

Sion smiled giddy. "That's so sweet…." Combined with her teeth, Sion pulled the bracelet onto her wrist. She admired it for a moment and then looked up at Hiei. "Thank you."

Hiei just nodded, biting back a smile.

x – x – x

Whether they realized it or not, Hiei and Sion began to grow closer. They might not have said much but it was obvious in how they looked at each other. Sion was able to get Hiei to do things he normally wouldn't. She had him go to town to shop and eat with her. She got him to play video games and even wear human attire (this took a lot of convincing and squabbling). The threat of forcing a dress on him was a key factor.

"Not too much longer." Sakura said to Kurama one morning. She was watching Sion and Hiei play a racing game. Hiei's car had just exploded and Sion was laughing hysterically while the fire demon fumed and tried to break the controller.

"Yes." Kurama said, watching them.

Sakura smirked into her coffee.

x – x – x

Hiei, Kurama, Sakura, and Sion were sitting in the living room a couple weeks later, a movie playing on the T.V. Rain poured like buckets outside causing the power to constantly flicker on and off. Of course, Kurama's T.V. had a built in generator.

"You're a nerd." Sion commented simply when he had explained why the T.V. stayed on during one of the longer power failures. Kurama just made a face.

"The Godfather" was reaching a suspenseful climax when the doorbell rang. Kurama stopped the movie and got up.

Sion rolled her eyes and laid on Hiei to keep him from trying to get away. He had been holding contempt for the movie before it even started. She was just about tired of hearing him tell her that the Don was a whimp.

"What in the—!"

Sakura immediately stood up and went to the door and Sion sat up, following her after a glance at Hiei.

Standing on Kurama's doorstep, using a tree limb to support him, was a badly injured and bloody Jiro.

"Hey… Sion…," he said weakly, trying to give her a smile but he was only able to lose consciousness.

"Oh my god!" Sion jumped forward and caught him, looking down at the battered and soaked demon.

Without a single word, Sakura helped her to pull him into the house and lay him on the couch as Kurama went to get his first aid kit. Hiei had gone to his window to perch on the sill and watch from a distance.

Sion kneeled next to the couch and inspected his wounds as Sakura got some candles to set around them for light and warmth. Because of the power constantly going out, the rooms had become either too hot or too cold and trying to mend someone's injuries in the dark would be difficult if not dangerous.

Sion could only sit and watch Jiro's face. She seemed to be fighting with her mind over what could have happened and sometimes she looked as if she didn't understand why he was there. Sakura sat back next to her, leaving Kurama to use his plants to help Jiro.

"Do you know him?" Sakura asked quietly, glancing at Hiei.

Sion nodded. "He was my first and one of my only friends while I was at Frey's. He helped me to escape once, but…," she paused to swallow, "When I was brought back I was told that he had been killed for helping me."

Sakura frowned and searched quickly for the right thing to say. "His wounds didn't seem to be as bad as they looked… so you must be relieved that he's alive, right?"

Sion bit her lip and nodded, still watching the brown haired demon.

Kurama packed up the first aid and looked to Sion. "He should be fine in a couple of days."

Sion perked up, looking hopeful. "Really?"

Kurama smiled and nodded. Sakura helped Sion take him to the only guest room, Sion's, and laid him on the bed. The room was awfully cold, so they gathered a lot of blankets from other rooms and then headed back onto the living room. Hiei was still sitting at the window, staring out at the rain. Sion frowned and hung her head. Sakura decided it was best to stay out of it, so she joined Kurama in the kitchen.

x – x - x


	8. Division VIII

**_Unlikely Places_**

Just as Kurama predicted, Jiro was fine within a couple of days. Unfortunately, things weren't all right in the household. Hiei and Sion suddenly seemed to have broken apart and Sion wasn't sure why. Hiei didn't leave as he normally would, but was often locked in whatever room he could get into or sitting in trees outside the house.

Sion spent almost every waking moment with Jiro making sure he wasn't too hot or cold and making sure his wounds stayed clean. She kept up this beside manner until he finally began to regain consciousness.

He opened his eyes slowly and stared up at the ceiling with dull, unfocused pupils. At first, he seemed oblivious to life and then he appeared confused about his surroundings.

"Jiro?"

He turned his head sharply to look at her, startled. But this only caused an explosion of pain inside his head and he clutched his temples.

Sion frowned. "Sorry," she said softly and bit her lip, patiently waiting on him to respond.

After a few moments Jiro lowered his hands and sat up, sliding back gently so that he could lean against the headboard. "No, don't apologize. I'm just disoriented."

Sion nodded and pursed her lips, wondering what she should say. "What… happened?" she finally asked.

Jiro glanced over at her and then looked down at his hands, his brown hair falling to frame his face, hiding his expression. "'What happened' when? A lot has happened."

Sion sighed. "I want to know how you've alive, and who injured you."

Jiro scratched his head, grinning a bit. "Well… that's a lot." He thought for a moment, and then said, "Well, to answer your first question, the reason I'm still alive is that I was never killed in the first place. Is that what they told you?"

Sion nodded. "Frey told me he had killed you for treason."

Jiro nodded in knowing, "Of course. He wanted to kill me for it, but he couldn't bring himself to do it in the end, so he sent me to his Bengosha camp hoping they could break me and make me his soldier. They even had a necromancer channel spirits through me."

Sion cringed, gritting her teeth. She'd never experienced it, but having a spirit channeled through your soul was supposed to be one the most painful tortures ever created. Unsurprisingly, it was a torture created by the vampires that the demons stole. If the spirit touched the mind of the one channeled it could drive them crazy and sometimes the spirit would stay and kill off its user, making it a zombie.

Jiro noticed her reaction and agreed. "Luckily, I was able to keep my mind closed off to the spirits. After about a month of the torturing, they believed that they had been able to break me. I went along with it and followed them to the portal to the Ningenkai. I was supposed to accompany Isao and Iwao to kill you, but when they told us it was you… I refused. Because of that, I was kept behind and any trust I had with them was taken away.

"I waited for a couple of days until they got word that the twins were killed by Hiei, one of the champions of the Dark Tournament. I figured he must have been a friend of yours or the twins wouldn't have bothered with him.

"Somehow, their leader was able to tie all of this into me and I was punished for it. I fought them off for awhile receiving these wounds," he gestured down at his bandages, "and then I fled." He was silent a moment and then frowned, his visage looked steeped in sadness. "I'm sorry, Sion. I led them here. I don't know how I knew where to find you… They probably knew I would… I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

Sion shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We knew they were coming eventually, so we've been prepared. Everyone here is an excellent fighter." She stood up and tried her best to smile at him. "You just work on getting better so you can fight with us." She clenched her fist and held it up as encouragement, her face showing a cat-like grin.

Jiro smiled. "You've changed."

Sion raised an eyebrow at him.

"Not a bad change. But… your heart is lighter. There's no more ice."

Sion just stared at him for a moment before smiling some. Jiro held his arms up to her. Sion hugged her friend for a long time. Even though the greatest conflict was ahead, Sion felt that everything was going to be fine just with a friend's touch.

But everything wasn't fine. The entire house was filled with apprehension about the oncoming fight. The more time drug out, the worse it got. Kurama would sit in the garden for hours, but never touch a leaf. Sakura was constantly breaking dishes and Sion had begun to keep a tick mark chart of how many times she fell down the stairs. Hiei wouldn't even come into the house and, to Sion's dismay, wouldn't even look at her.

Jiro had begun to walk around and could often be found in the backyard shadow boxing, quickly trying to regain his strength. With each passing day, he seemed to become more and more like himself.

"He'll be an asset for us against the Bengosha." Kurama said, watching him train from the window. Sakura nodded.

"I don't want him to stay around and fight with us." Sion stated simply.

Kurama and Sakura both turned to look at her, confused. "But why? He knows how the Bengosha operate." Sakura reasoned.

"So do I." Sion said, expecting that statement to end the conversation.

Sakura looked at Kurama with a frown. "We know you do, Sion, but he's actually been apart of them."

"Then ask him questions, but I want him to return to the Makai." Sion said and the discussion ended. They turned back to the window and watched as Jiro high kicked the nearest tree, rattling it explosively. Most of the leaves fell to the ground and a huge crack ran up the trunk making a lightning-like sound.

Unfortunately, that's not all that cracked. Hiei jumped down from the tree, glowering. "Watch what the hell you're doing." He said hotly.

Jiro narrowed his eyes at Hiei. "Don't start anything, Hiei. I don't want to fight you."

"Because you know you'd lose." Hiei spat, keeping his icy gaze on Jiro.

"Oh really?"

"Stop it!" Sion stood at the back door, her arms crossed over her chest. "Stop acting like children." She spat as her eyes looked from one boy to the other.

Jiro frowned and turned to face her, shrugging sheepishly, and Hiei disappeared into the trees.

Sion quickly followed after him. Jiro was left to stand there confused as Sakura and Kurama observed with frowns.

Sion didn't have to track Hiei far, which was unusual. It was if he wanted to be found. He was standing on a rock between two strangely shaped trees, his back to her and his arms crossed over his chest.

Sion approached him slowly, still sorting through her thoughts and trying to figure out what to say to him. "Hiei…?" she asked softly.

He only looked over his shoulder at her. "Hn?"

"What was that all about?" She asked, twiddling with her fingers. Her stomach was knotting up and she couldn't seem to calm herself down.

"Nothing." he grumbled.

"Don't lie to me, damn it." She said, clenching her fists. "Tell me what that was about."

Hiei remained silent for a few long moments, making Sion's stomach begin to fill as if it were crocheting her insides. Finally, he sighed and said, "I don't like him."

"Jiro? Why?" she asked, bewildered.

"He's… he's close to you." he said almost to the point that Sion couldn't hear him.

Sion's stomach began to unwind and she couldn't help but grin. "Hiei… are you… _jealous _of Jiro?"

"No." Hiei pouted and Sion laughed.

"You are!"

Hiei spun around, face red. "I am not!"

"Then why is it written all over your face?" Sion smirked, cocking her head to the side and pointing a clawed finger at him.

Hiei's hands immediately went to his face as if they would see this writing she spoke of.

Sion just grinned more. "That's even more proof."

Hiei grumbled and sat down on the rock. Sion walked over and sat down next to him. "You don't need to worry about Jiro. He's just a friend."

"Certainly didn't seem that way when you hugged him." Hiei said, looking at the ground.

Sion raised an eyebrow. "Were you spying on me?"

"No."

Sion stared at him, the eyebrow still raised.

Hiei grumbled, "Yes."

Sion shook her head. "How can I proof it to you then?"

Hiei didn't answer, but his ears turned red.

Sion smirked, but her cheeks were red and her stomach knotted up. She laughed a little, trying to calm her nerves and then shrugged, as if saying mentally, "What the hell?" and grabbed Hiei's face, kissing him quickly.

The demon froze, unsure how to react even though this had been what he wanted. Eventually, he gave in and returned the kiss, gingerly wrapping his arms around the cat demon's small waist.

Time seemed to stand still around them. Nothing was able to penetrate their sanctuary, not even sound or light. The moments lasted forever and at the same time they were short and sweet. But finally their bond was broken by the need for air.

Sion smiled sheepishly at Hiei, earning a small smile from him; but all peace eventually ends.

"SION! HIEI! Where are you!?"

The two demons stood at hearing Sakura's voice. Glancing at each other quickly, they ran back to the house to find two demons standing on the roof. One, a bulky man with short red hair and piercing blue eyes, held Sakura around the neck as if she were just a rag doll. Kurama and Jiro stood on the ground, glaring up at the two.

"Well, there she is. The lady of honor," said the other man with spite. He was the leader, Siyu. He stood definitely, bound white hair cascading down his back and purple eyes standing out against pale skin. A katana was lashed to his back, but the blade was held in his hand at the moment, its curved tip pointed at Sion and Hiei.

"Give yourself up or that's the end of the vampire." Siyu said, a smirk curving his lips.

"Forget it!" Sion spat.

Sakura struggled, kicking against her captor. "You could have at least thought about it a second!"

Kurama pulled a rose from his hair and swiped it through the air, the rose replaced by his trademark whip. Without hesitating, he used the whip to grab the bulky man's arm and jerked back, cutting off the circulation. The man groaned and tried to rip off the whip, dropping Sakura.

The she-vampire bounced off the roof and landed beside Kurama, immediately turning to glare at their opponents.

"Don't worry about it, Agron." Siyu said coolly to the man. "It doesn't matter whether they have her on their side or not."

"Really? We'll see about that!" Sakura spat. She held out her hand, palm facing the ground. With a moment of concentration, a small ball of fire formed in front of her palm. Two blades sprouted from the sphere and then the hilt. She grabbed the center of the twin blade sword and, only taking a step back, swung the blade at Siyu.

A shield went up around Siyu, bouncing the blade off and causing it to scatter off the roof. Sakura called it back to her, fuming with indignity.

"Great, he can use magic." Hiei grumbled.

"No, he can't." Kurama said. "Agron can."

"What?" Sion and Sakura said in unison, turning to Kurama, obviously wanting an explanation.

"Agron is a necromancer." Kurama observed, narrowing his eyes.

Jiro nodded. "He is."

"Is that the one?" Sion asked, looking at Jiro. She received a nod. "Bastard!" Sion spat out and ran, springing to the roof and slashing her claws at Agron's face.

Agron stumbled back, unable to put up his shield in time and slid of the roof. He grabbed Sion like a doll and threw her into the nearest tree and slammed his fist on the ground, speaking rapidly, "Yneca so tasuhc, cipsed du so bufan!"

In a circle around the group on the ground, the ground began to break and be pushed aside as corpses up to hundreds of years old clambered out of the depths. The ones that still had skin lost bits and pieces of it every time they moved. Eyes popped out of skulls and fell to the ground with faint _plops _and bones creaked like rusty hinges.

"Zombies… disgusting." Jiro commented.

"Typical of a necromancer." Hiei replied, stepping back.

Sion pushed herself off the ground and jumped over the zombies, kicking a few heads off. She landed nimbly, wiping blood from her mouth as the bodies dumbly felt around for their lost heads.

"Enough of this!" Siyu exclaimed and disappeared from the roof, appearing behind Hiei. He slashed his blade toward the demon's neck quickly.

Hiei used his speed to get away, swiftly pulling his sword from its sheath. They became locked in a battle of speed and blade. Each demon trying to overcome the other in an impressive array of skill.

Jiro watched, impressed, but his show was interrupted by a zombie coming up behind him and grabbing him by the throat. He quickly jabbed the zombie in the stomach and spun around, punching its head off.

Kurama was using is rose whip to take out up to ten zombies at a time, and Sakura's raven blades were burning their way through the never ending ranks. Sion's claws ripped through any that got in her way, but her real target was Agron.

Agron stood, his arms crossed and a smug grin on his face. "Suja vycdan, cmikc! Pnehk ouin vneahtc ymuhk!"

The zombies began to move faster and in greater numbers towards Kurama, Sakura, and Jiro. They continued to fight them in the same manner, but were gradually being overcome.

Sion knew she had to hurry, so she jumped to the roof and then dive bombed Agron, hoping to catch him off guard. As she suspected, he looked up casually and was about to grab for her, but at the last minute Sion bounced her feet off the house and propelled to his other side, kicking him sharply. The large necromancer crumpled over, groaning.

Sion didn't waste a moment and quickly pulled a knife out of her pocket. It was a simple switchblade she always carried, but it would due him in. She flipped it open and before the necromancer could react, she drove the blade into his heart. He swiped a huge hand at her as he fell and caught her on the side, throwing her to the ground before he hit as well, dead.

Sion pushed herself up slowly as zombies fell all around them. Kurama, Sakura, and Jiro had been rounded up, back to back, and took this chance to catch their breath before rushing over to Sion.

Sakura helped the dizzy neko to her feet and they turned to where Siyu and Hiei were still battling, only able to see their blurs. After a few more long moments of this crusade, the two demons stopped abruptly, staring each other down.

Both were horribly torn up. Hiei's cloak had been lost somewhere in the struggle and his shirt was torn, as well as his arms. Siyu's hair had come undone and was flying about him menacingly as he stared Hiei down, breathing heavily. His own clothes were ripped and his skin was in even worse condition.

"Very impressive, but this fight isn't over yet."

Siyu held out his sword and concentrated. "Vesica, exuro!" He shouted and suddenly the blade was engulfed in flames. He slashed it before him a few times, trying it out, before lunging at Hiei.

Hiei parried the blow and leapt back. Instead of attacking, Hiei remained on the defense, blocking every blow made by Siyu and gaining burns in the process.

"What is he doing?" Sion muttered angrily, gritting her teeth.

Kurama bit his lip, apparently knowing exactly what Hiei planned to do. "We need to move."

They looked to him in alarm, but asked no questions and followed him back behind the trees, using their thick trunks as shelter.

Hiei parried one last blow, sending Siyu stumbling. Hiei took a big leap back and dropped his blade to the ground, holding on his arm. He glared menacingly at Siyu as black energy began to seep from the ground. The energy grew more vast and explosive with each passing second until huge holes were ripped from the ground by giant pillars of black power.

Siyu stepped back as if confused about what he saw. The bandage around Hiei's forehead burned away revealing the shining, purple iris of the jagan and realization of what was about to happen hit Siyu like a ton of bricks. The demon dropped his sword and turned to high tail it out of there, but it was too late.

"_Dragon of the Darkness Flame!_" Hiei yelled and thrust his palm at Siyu. The black dragon of the Makai's hells swept past him ferociously and clamped its jaws down on Siyu. The demons blood curdling screams pierced theirs ears until they finally died away. The flame burned like a black bonfire before them before slowly dying away leaving nothing but a patch of dirt and a few ashes.

x – x – x


	9. Division IX

_**Unlikely Places**_

_Tick, tick, tick_. The subtle sound of a clock ticking awoke Sion from her deep slumber. She rolled over and gazed at it's illuminated surface. _3:30 A.M._ Sighing, she sat up and rubbed sleep from her eyes. She pushed herself off the warm, soft mattress and headed over to the window. She opened the large windows and sat on the sill, swinging her legs over the side so that they could bounce against the outside of the house. She gazed up through the branches of the large tree to the full moon. For a long time she sat like that, gazing at the magnificent orb. _Now what?_ she thought forlornly.

It had been exactly three weeks since the fight with Siyu and Agron. All but one of the Bengosha were dead. Was that next? Did she need to hunt down the last of the group and finish them off? Or was it even worth it? Maybe they would find her? She didn't feel as if she should stay at the house either, even though no one seemed to object to the idea.

Jiro left the week after the fighting, saying he was going to return to the Makai and find a village to live in, maybe even start a family. He said he couldn't wait to have children to tell this tale to. Sion only laughed, thinking this wasn't really a story children should hear, or one worth telling at all. She wished him luck, but felt a little jealous that he was leaving for the road and she was becoming… civilized.

Ever since Hiei had performed the Dragon of the Darkness Flame technique he had been out in the woods all day and night, training or whatnot. She only saw him once during that time and it wasn't enough time for them to speak.

Sion sighed, resting her chin in her palm and putting her elbow on her knee. _Where are you now, Hiei?_

_Right here._

Sion jumped, startled. She hadn't expected an answer, especially a telepathic one. She looked up and saw Hiei sitting on the branch near her. "You startled me."

"I scared you."

"Startled." Sion growled.

Hiei held up a hand in surrender and Sion calmed down quickly. The demon flitted to the window and sat beside her. "Now what?" He asked, knowing full well what her answer would be.

"I have no idea." She replied, smiling at him. "Want to go on a demon hunt?"

Hiei laughed some. "Sounds romantic," he replied sarcastically and looked up at her.

Sion just laughed some and gave him a half smile. "It does, doesn't it?"

Hiei shook his head and pressed his lips to Sion's, catching her off guard. She relaxed after a moment and returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Romance can be found in the most unlikely of places. But when it is found, does it really seem unlikely anymore?

x – x – x


End file.
